


Sophomore Year

by chadleymacguff



Series: Something You Misplaced [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-04
Updated: 2012-10-04
Packaged: 2017-11-15 14:40:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/528385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chadleymacguff/pseuds/chadleymacguff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It just felt like he was going through the motions. Like his body was on auto-pilot. He didn't even realize he was at school until he heard the slam on the locker three down from him.<br/>Of course it was Chris.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sophomore Year

**Author's Note:**

> I first want to apologize for how long it took me to finish this chapter. I've been a busy bee with trying to keep up with everything and make sure it's not crappy. I apologize if there are some errors, I didn't get a chance to get this chapter Beta'd yet, so it may be updated later

Going back to back to school wasn’t something that Peter was looking forward to. It’d been about two weeks since he’d gotten back from camp. He hadn’t done much of anything except go school shopping and lounge around the house. He didn’t want to do anything. It’s wasn’t like he had anything to do stuff with anyway. So when the day finally rolled around where he had to get out of the house, you can say that he was less than excited.

Peter got up at the same time that he did every year, went down stairs and ate breakfast with his dad and brother and rode his bike to school like he usually did. Nothing was really out of the ordinary. It just felt like he was going through the motions. Like his body was on auto-pilot. He didn’t even realize he was at school until he heard the slam on the locker three down from him.

Of course it was Chris. He shot Peter a quick smile before turning and jogging down the hallway to meet up with a group of people that he wasn’t familiar with. Peter just stared at him joking and laughing. He slammed his locker closed with a bit more force than that normal person. His fingers ached at the tip, his claws fighting their way to the surface, itching to bury into the nearest object or body that they could find.

It was the first time that Peter had seen Chris since the whole camp thing. Chris pulled a total disappearing act on him. It wasn’t like the other times when he’d avoid him. This time he was very thorough. He didn’t answer his phone calls, he didn’t answer the door when he stopped by, Peter had even bumped into his sister Kate at the supermarket and he made sure not to say anything remotely close to the subject of Chris.

He felt like he was being cut out of his life. Like a cancerous lump that you get surgically removed by a specialist at the top hospital in the country. Peter fought back the urge to sink his teeth in Chris’ neck and his features returned back to normal.

Peter didn’t like not being in control and right now, being anywhere Chris was going to make him lose it. Who does that anyway? Who kisses someone in a supply closet out of nowhere and then takes off and avoids them entirely. It wasn’t even that big of a deal to him either. Peter just wanted to talk about it. It’s not like he didn’t like it, because he did. He really liked, like REALLY liked it, which was confusing enough without Chris being a major asshole.

He pressed his forehead against his locker, the cold of the metal soothing his burning skin. These are the kinds of things that you really need to talk to your best friend about and apparently Peter was in the market for a new one. The warning bell rang overhead and Peter could hear the scuffling of shoes up and down the hallway. He didn’t want to go the class. At this point he really didn’t want to do anything but be alone somewhere, anywhere. Peter felt his body move on its own. He was back on auto-pilot. Cycling through the motions of going from class to class, pretending to be listening, he even answered a few questions that he knew the answers to but he wasn’t really there. Peter might have physically been planted in the desk in the center of almost every room but he was a million miles away.

Before he knew it a couple of weeks had gone by. Peter had to admit that it hurt less each day but it still hurt like hell not being able to talk to your best friend. But there were other ways for him to deal with how he was feeling. He’d been riding into the woods every day after school for a run. It was nice to work out his aggression in a healthy way. Well healthy for wolves that is.

Peter would exit through the side entrance to avoid anyone he knew after the final bell rang and head straight over to the bike racks. He’d unlock his bike from the steel loops that held it up and hop on, riding down the street. Sometimes he wasn’t so lucky not to see anyone. A few times he’d made eye contact with Chris but he’d never say anything. Once or twice it looked like Chris was going to say something but Peter never gave him the opportunity.

He’d tear out of the parking lot and down the street, ducking out into a thicket of trees where he knew Chris wouldn’t find him. Two can play that game. If Chris could avoid him, so could he. Peter would petal fast into the backwoods, far away from where anyone could possibly look for him and just run. He’d run for hours, climbing, chasing animals, clawing into the trees to work out frustration. It was therapeutic.

Today was one of the days that no one was going to be home until late. His parents had gone a town or so over to visit some relatives and his brother was visiting colleges. It wasn’t often Peter got the whole house to himself, so he really took the opportunity to do whatever he wanted, which happened to be just running.

He pedaled back to the house around nine, the sun already long out of sight and the stars flickering gently in the sky. Peter didn’t have a problem making his way back home in the dark. It was really easy with his enhanced vision and all. He got just past the front porch when he saw it, a figure sitting on one of the front steps. He could tell from the scent that it was Chris, it was a wonder it took him getting that close to notice him before. Must have been all the stuff he’d had on his mind.

“What do you want Chris?”

Peter’s voice was low agitated. He didn’t really want to talk to Chris. Sure he did a few weeks ago and maybe if you’d asked him last week he might have said he wanted to talk then. But no he didn’t. He wanted Chris to leave.

“I wanted to talk to you…”

“That’s funny because I don’t want to talk to you.”

Chris looked at him, his eyes a mixture of confusion and shock.

“But I—“

“You just want to talk to me because you feel guilty for ignoring me for a month and a half. Good, you should. You only want to talk now because it’s convenient for you. Well it isn’t for me. So if it’s all the same, I would just like it if you left.”

Chris placed his hands at his sides, gently drumming his fingers on the wooden porch before rising to his feet. He walked down and past Peter in a slow pace. Chris turned back to look at Peter just as he walked around the side of his house put away his bike. Peter didn’t have time for his half assed apologies. Well, he did, but he didn’t want to hear them. You’d think that after all that they’d been through Peter would be a little more forgiving. Truth of the matter was, Chris had initiated the encounter and then pulled away and to add insult to injury, he ignored Peter for almost two months. If Chris really wanted to apologize or talk about it, he could wait. There was nothing wrong with letting him fester in his guilt for a little while longer at least. By Peter’s logic, if Chris was honest to god apologetic he would try again. He was just hoping by then he would have moved on enough to listen.

\--

A couple of months passed without the two of them speaking. Peter was actually starting to get the idea that Chris wasn’t going to try again. But he’d made peace with that. Or at least that’s what he kept telling himself. If you asked anyone in his family they’d tell you otherwise.

He would never talk about it but on every full moon he’d let out all that aggression he’d been holding onto. The moon would rise and Peter would go running, tearing into anything that he could find. The morning after he’d have to bury the carcass he’d torn apart the night before. His father and brother telling him that he needs to get a handle on whatever was bothering him. That he can’t let it fester below the surface like it has been.

Peter knew that they were right but there was no way in hell he was going to give in and say something first. It was a game of who would crack first and Chris always held all the cards. He didn’t seem as broken up as Peter did that’s for sure.

Peter would still see him every day, laughing and smiling like nothing was wrong. He’d see him in his gym class, which was the only one they had together this year and for that Peter thanked the scheduling gods. Chris always seemed so unphased by everything. Like nothing really mattered. But he didn’t know he fell into the category of things that didn’t matter.

It did kind of bother Peter that he hadn’t tried to apologize again. Sure the first time he shot him down because, hey, Peter was really fucking hurt. Of course he wasn’t going to be ready to hear Chris try and smooth things over with his sweet words and dazzling eyes and innocent smile. Peter knows how he operates. He knows that making the first move was a huge deal for him the first time, which is precisely why he wasn’t expecting Chris to stop him at the bike racks after school.

Peter knelt down to tie one of his shoe laces and unlock his bike rack. He’d just gotten new shoes and was trying to break them in but for whatever reason they had no wiggle to them. To make matters worse on him, they kept coming untied. If they hadn’t of come untied, Peter probably would have seen Chris coming. If he would’ve seen him coming he most definitely would have untangled his lock faster and booked it out of the parking lock before he closed in the five feet distance mark. But alas, by circumstance he didn’t notice him until it was too late and Chris was leaning over his bike seat.

He lifted his head slowly to look up at a smiling Chris. His fingers wrapped around the sides of the seat. His eyes twinkling in the sun light that peeked over a few clouds. Peter was lucky enough not to catch a full on smile, only a smirk dawned his face.

“Hey Petey.”

Nothing bothered him more than when Chris would use that nickname. Chris knew that he hate it too. It was like he did it just to get on his nerves or pester him.

“What do you want?”

Peter looked back down at his shoes trying to focus something else, anything else. Maybe if he looked uninterested in what he had to say, maybe Chris would go away. No such luck.

“I still want to talk to you. I figured two months was long enough to let you cool off.”

Peter was starting to get the impression that Chris was clueless. Why after him ignoring him for a month and a half, would Peter want more space? The distance between the two of them did do something to Peter. It let him see what life without Chris in his life would be like. It hurt like hell at first but right about now, he was doing okay or at least on the road to okay.

“What makes you think I still want to talk about it?”

Chris tilted his head with a sarcastic smile, his eyes slightly narrowed.

“Really Pete? After all this time you think I don’t know you like the back of my hand? You always want to talk stuff out. It’s your thing.”

Peter tugged his laces into a bow and straightened the cuff on his jeans, standing to his feet. He grabbed one of the handles and nudged Chris off of the seat. He didn’t say anything for a moment. He was trying to determine if it was going to be a good idea to have this conversation. At some point he tilted his head to the sight of a beaming Chris, hands clasped together as if to beg. There wasn’t even a chance of him getting out of this parking lot without agreeing so he might as well give in.

“Fine.”

He made sure to make his voice blank. No sense of happiness or sorrow, just an answer. As long as he didn’t let anything out like, how seriously pissed off he still was or how fucking confused he was by the whole situation or how confused he was about his feelings; as long as he didn’t mention anything like that, he’d be okay.

It didn’t take them very long to ride from the school over to what Peter could only describe as, their spot. He didn’t know if Chris would call it that but that’s what Peter would always call it. Their spot, that’s what it was. They stopped about there they usually did, the bike tires stopped and dragging a bit of the forest floor along with it.

Peter leaned his bike against a tree, draping his bag on the handle bars. He scratched a bit and stretched out his spine like you do after a long car ride. A yawn fought its way out of his mouth just as he started to mouth words.

His back was turned towards Chris. Peter was looking out into the forest, taking in the sights and sounds. The birds were calling back and forth to each other in a way that he could almost make out. Smells of lavender and something rustic that he could only place as a moist wood filled his nostrils. Peter was sure Chris could smell it too. It wasn’t faint, so anyone without werewolf powered sense could smell it.

“Can you smell that? It smells fantasti—“

The motion caught Peter off guard, which didn’t happen often. His feet were stumbling, searching for a level stable place to stand. Peter’s back smacked into a nearby tree. Before he could snap to his senses enough to realize what was going on, Chris was grabbing the back of his head and pressing their lips together.

At first he wanted to shove Chris off of him, this kind of stuff was what caused the whole problem in the first place. But there was another part of him that just wanted to pull him in closer. Peter could feel that sensation taking over. Parting his lips to allow the boys tongue to graze against his. He inhaled deep, Chris’ scent taking over his thoughts. How hot and feverish he smelled, how his blood was pumping faster, the feel of his hand slipping into the small of Peter’s back pressing their torsos together.

Chris was the first to break their embrace, pulling back and taking several steps backwards towards their bikes. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, smearing the combination of their spit over his mouth, drying in seconds. Peter could still smell it, the passion and arousal that it left behind. It was a pungent smell. No matter how much distance Chris would put between the two of them he could find him. Even if he ran he knew that he could catch him with ease, the question is if he ran would he go after him?

Peter was confused once again by Chris’ actions. He initiated this kiss that Peter knew both of them were into. It was obvious to anyone, especially from the tiny dot that he could see on the front of Chris’ pants.

“What the hell was that?”

Peter was trying to speak as calmly as he possibly could, suppressing any hostility in his voice with inquisition.

Chris was quite, still stepping backwards. Peter could tell that if he let him get too far the boy was going to bolt. That was the last thing he wanted. Last time they were in this situation it took them three and a half months to talk about it and they only led them to where they were now. No talking and another kiss that couldn’t be explained.

“Chris! Talk to me!” He demanded.

Peter could see him as if in slow motion turn to run off. He could hear his heartbeat this time. It was racing like an Olympic sprinter. He wasn’t going to let him get away this time. With his speed advantage Peter was able to close the distance in the blink of an eye and grab his arm firmly to keep him from budging.

Chris snapped his head around to look him in the eyes. He was confused. It read all over his face, his eyes glossy, almost on the verge of tears. Chris was just as confused as he was in all of this. Peter really didn’t even think about that.

Chris always had the upper hand in their relationship, always in control. Peter was so wrapped in how he was going to deal, never even thought about how he was dealing. Peter felt his grip loosen slightly, his eyes dropping to look somewhere that wasn’t in the eyes. He couldn’t look into them anymore. If he did Peter would see more than he was supposed to. He’d know something that Chris didn’t want him to, something he wasn’t sure he was ready to process.

“I-I…I don’t…”

Chris was stammering over words. Peter thought he should give him a break and do the talking for a change.

“You can’t do that?”

He saw Chris’ mouth drop open to start the question but he cut him off.

“You can’t do stuff like that. You can’t do THAT. And then just pull away and run.”

Chris shifted slightly. He put his hands in his pockets, leaning against a nearby tree. His eyes were closed as he slid down the length of the tree to sit on the ground. Peter watched him for a while. His words still lingered in the air. He could tell that Chris was thinking by the way he was silent, his breathing rhythmic yet still irregular.

It was uncommon for him to be silent this long. Peter positioned himself next to his, resting his head onto the heavy trunk. Peter looked at the young boys face but he didn’t look back. His eye lids were heavy in the way they only came up half way for him to stare at the dirt and leaves that were around his feet. Peter didn’t want to push him to talk, so he didn’t. They just sat in silence until Chris knocked his hand into Peter’s.

“Remember Mr. Bay’s eight grade science class? Remember how he would just go on and on about some stuff and we’d get really off topic and confused about what we were talking about. So you and I would switch chairs people whenever he would turn his back just to mess with him?”

Peter laughed.

“Yeah. I also remember you almost didn’t pass because you wouldn’t answer anything on the tests other than ‘C’”

“Well it hard to be right some of the time!”

Their laughs echoed between the trees.

“I don’t know what I would have don’t if you hadn’t help me study for the final test Pete.”

Chris let out a deep sigh, looking down at his hands. He leaned his head towards Peter without looking at him

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me Petey. Every time I see you, I want to kiss you. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t help it. I don’t know what any of this is supposed to mean.”

“Is that why you keep taking off every time it happens.”

Chris nodded weakly.

“That and I don’t know how to be around you right now. Which sucks because you’re my best friend.”

“And it really sucks not being able to talk to your best friend about this kind of stuff.”

“Yeah.”

Peter hopped up to his feet, extending his arm out to Chris to help him up.

“Remember when we were in kindergarten and that kid Billy Dwight pushed you off the swing set and I chased him away? Do you remember how you were crying and I helped you up and we promised to be best friends?”

Chris grabbed his hand, jostling into Peter. Peter helped him find his footing, looking him in the eyes.

“We’re still friends Chris. We’ll always be friends.”

A smile stretched across his face. Peter found it reassuring that Chris felt the same way. At least at this point he knew that their friendship was still intact. But that still left the other burning question unanswered. The one that they both really wanted to know, what did the kiss mean? If it meant something more, were either they willing to venture in that direction?

\--

Things kind of started to shift back to normal for Peter after finally getting to talk to Chris. The two of them would talk more in school, hangout in gym class, even bike into their secret spot in the woods a couple of days a week. Peter could still feel some kind of distance between him and Chris but wasn’t anything too severe, just a feeling that he got when he would mention certain things like camp for instance.

But that was something that Peter would worry about another day. Over most of the previous month Peter was really only focused on one thing, getting his driver’s license. It was important because it was a major milestone in life and he was really looking forward to not having to ride his bike to school every day, especially in the rain.

It took him a few tries to actually get his license. The first time he bumped a cone trying to Parallel Park. That got him an immediate fail. You can only imagine how frustrated Peter was when it happened, since he was so great at it. Performance anxiety had to have been it. But there were no worries on his mind because the second time was going to be it. He was wrong again. Peter turned on the wrong side of a median getting, yet another, immediate fail. That time he really freaked. Peter actually had to go for a run to blow off some steam. It was getting ridiculous on how many tries it was taking him to get this stupid license. But he had hope. They do always say that the third time is the charm. And in his case, that’s exactly what it was.

Peter was so excited when he finally got a look at the glossy piece of plastic that he worked so hard for. It would only be traditional that his photo was horrible and made him look like a criminalized version of himself. But it was the best of three shots. The first two times his eyes set off a flare onto the camera, hiding his face under the blurry circles. But hey, it was better than not having one at all.

When he got home he found a surprise waiting in his driveway, his uncle’s old pick-up trunk. The truck was a rustic red with shiny new tires.  It was about five years only and had a few dings here and there but he loved it all the same.

Peter couldn’t wait to show Chris. His dad cautiously dropped the keys into his hands. Peter knew that he had to have been smiling a mile wide because of the way he looked at him when he turned the key in the ignition and listened to the engine spark to life. This was his baby now and he could take her anywhere. He could fell the acceleration under his foot, it was exhilarating. It wasn’t like how fast he could run on foot, this was horsepower. There was some connection he had as a man to a machine, that ability to go faster.

_Wait until Chris gets a load of this._

Peter pulled in front of The Argent’s house and killed the engine. He stepped out of the driver’s side with a new sense of freedom. Everything just looked different when you could drive yourself there. Even the air smelled just a bit sweeter. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

The Argent’s had one of the larger houses in town, not as big as the Hale’s but big none the less. The bell dinged and echoed throughout the house. Peter could hear bodies scuffling and someone approaching the door. He knew before she turned the knob that it was Kate.

Kate was Chris’ little sister, about six years younger than the two of them. Peter noticed how tall she was for her age. Her slender figure attached to long legs that up her a few inches shorter than Peter.

“What do you want Peter?”

She was always a feisty one. Peter knew that but there wasn’t much that he didn’t know about the Argents at this point. Kate twirled a lock of her Sandy brown hair around her finger, tilting her head to stare at Peter intently. Her eyes expanded, implying a need to the posed question he’d yet to answer.

“Oh, is Chris home? I need to talk to him.”

She dropped he hands to her sides with a sigh before calling up the stairs. Chris strolled steadily down the steps until spotting Peter in the doorway, jogging over to meet the two.

“Mom wants you Kate.”

“I didn’t hear her say anything.”

Chris shot her a look and Kate was gone in a flash.

“What’s up Petey?”

Peter stepped aside to reveal the truck in Chris’ drive way.

“Guess who just got their license today.”

“No way! We’ve have GOT to go somewhere.”

“Why do you think I came over?”

Chris pulled the door closed and sped down the steps to get a better look at Peter’s new wheel. Peter watched him inspect the vehicle, looking at all of the tiny digs that frame had to offer. He even kicked the tires for good measure.

“Are you done now?”

\--

Shadows of trees passed by in the darkness, some wind swept in and blew Chris’ hair slightly. Peter noticed that he’d made himself comfortable, his feet propped up on the dashboard. It didn’t really bother him. It was something that Chris would do. It was almost expected at this point.

Peter was a little surprised at how fast they got to the spot in the woods. In his car it shed off about twenty or so minutes.

He clicked the keys into the off position. Without the background noise, there was nothing but the sound of the night forest. Owls hunting the dark, Bats calling out to find their prey, frogs croaking and jumping from place to place. It was peaceful and calming.

“Let me see what your picture looks like.” Chris smacked.

Peter had no idea where he’d gotten gum. He didn’t remember him chewing any when he picked him up. Peter lifted his body up slightly to jam a hand into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. He handed the plastic rectangle over to Chris, immediately after he heard snickering.

“Oh man, that is not a good picture.”

“Well let’s see yours! Oh wait you don’t have one yet.”

He stuck his tongue out at him. It was a bit childish but Peter didn’t care. Chris pulled the skin under his eye and stuck his tongue out back at him.

“You’re such a jerk sometimes.”

Peter snapped his license back into his wallet, throwing it on the dashboard. They were silent, just staring out into the darkness, the echo of crickets humming in the night.

It caught him off guard like most of Chris’ affection, the warmth of another hand cross over his. Chris placed his hand into his and tugged on it slightly. Peter smiled a tiny bit, glad that it was too dark for Chris to see his face from his side of the car.

Their fingers interlocked, Chris rubbing his thumb gently on the back of Peter’s hand. He moved closer, resting his head gently onto Peter’s shoulder. Peter could feel his heart beat several ticks faster. It was one thing when he’d catch him off with a kiss but this was something entirely different, a whole new level of affection. The strange thing is that Peter liked it and that was what really scared him. He’d never felt this way about anyone else, well anyone else of the male species that is. That was the confusing part.

“Kiss me.” Chris whispered, his breath puffing against his skin. It sent shivers down Peter’s spine. “I always have to make the first move. I want YOU to kiss ME.”

Peter could feel his throat go dry. He pushed his tongue over his lips trying desperately to provide them with moisture.

He pressed his lips chastely onto Chris’, his free hand rising up to cup the side of his face. Chris roused under him, grabbing the back of Peter’s head to bring them closer. Their hands pulled apart only to find new homes in opposing bodies.

Peter took a deep breath, taking in the scent of Chris’ arousal. It was familiar to him now. He realized that this was the scent he couldn’t place back at camp. But what had changed in him that he gave off this scent now? Chris moved his lower towards his navel. Peter realized that this was a question he could ask himself later.

He parted his lips allowing Chris to slip his tongue inside. They did an elegant dance back and forth for dominance, Chris applying force while Peter explored the other boys’ mouth, probing foreign territory.

Chris reclined backwards pulling Peter on top of him, his warmth washing over his smaller build as they pressed together. Peter took the opportunity to get more adventurous. He pulled at edge of Chris’ shirt, his fingers tracing the toned sections of the boys’ body.

Chris moaned into Peter, pulling their lips apart. He dove into the crook of Peter’s neck sucking at the tender skin to leave bruises. Chris flicked his tongue over Peter’s earlobe, tugging at it with his teeth. He could tell that he liked it by the way that he shuddered against him.

Peter could feel his wolf features fighting their way to the surface but he was determined to keep control. Somehow Chris was helping. He wasn’t sure if it was the way he was sucking on his neck or the fact that it was him in general but he wasn’t complaining either way.

Peter tucked his fingers into the loops of Chris’ jeans, bucking his pelvis into his. He could hear the boy gasp into his ear. It was clear how hard he was. Chris was rock hard and twitching against the front of his zipper.

Peter smiled in amusement. He pulled his nails over the soft skin under Chris’ shirt, leaving faint red trails behind. Chris arched his back with a moan, exposing his neck. Peter pressed his lips into his adam’s apple.

Chris writhed underneath him. He slipped his hands down into the back of Peter’s jeans, grabbing his ass and pulling him closer. Chris was leading his rhythm. Their lips finding their way back to each other, Chris moaning as Peter bit his lip slightly.

Peter ran a hand over erection in Chris’ jeans. He pulled away to get a look at the face that came with all of these sound effects. Chris clenched his eyes tight as his breathing became more sporadic. His body convulsed into Peter’s. The front of his pants absorbed the come like a sponge, forming a sticky mess that pressed into Peter’s hand.

“Did…did you just?”

Peter asked smiling down at him, their foreheads pressed together. Chris said nothing. He pushed Peter off of him and coiled himself against the door.

“Chris…”

It didn’t matter how many he said his name waiting for him to reply, he wasn’t going to. Peter repositioned himself and started the truck. It was silent the entire way back to the boy’s house. Chris sat tight lipped, pulling at the come stain on his jeans.

Peter pulled into his driveway and shirted into park. He turned to Chris just in time to watch him get out of the seat and slam the door behind him.

\--

Winter rolled around without him hearing anything from Chris since that night. Peter didn’t really know what to expect when it came from Chris these days. His go to move seemed to be putting distance between the two of them and Peter didn’t get why.

It was all Chris’ fault anyway. If he hadn’t have kissed him at camp. If Chris hadn’t have kissed him in the woods. If whatever happened in his car that night had never happened, maybe everything would still be alright between them. Maybe everything wouldn’t be so confusing and they would just be worrying about what they were going to do over the summer and have stupid snowball fights. But he did. All of it happened and Peter couldn’t bring himself to say that he was sorry it did.

Winter break was pretty easy on him. Not seeing Chris was almost the standard regiment around the Christmas holiday. The Hale’s from all over would convene at his family’s estate and remark about how big he and his brother had gotten. Peter would make some comments about not getting big enough and his brother would talk about which colleges he’d be attending the following year. They’d ask Peter what his plans were after high school and he’d answer something vague like business, because he really didn’t know what he wanted to do. It would just be meaningless dribble to pass the time and he didn’t mind. Every second answering a question he really didn’t want to answer from a relative he didn’t remember or want to see, was time he didn’t spend in his own head over analyzing.

Break didn’t last long enough for him to forget anything, just long enough to suppress. School kicked back in and Peter would see Chris in the hallways again. It was just like when they got back from summer vacation but this time it was worse. Before Chris would occasionally look over at him or give him a passing glance here or there. This time, he didn’t. He pretended like Peter didn’t exist in his world and Peter was finding it hard to accept.

Trying to ignore the one who’s ignoring you was proving to be harder a second time. Peter eventually decided that something to keep him busy would be a better approach. That’s when he joined the basketball team. Peter wasn’t all that interested in sports but I was worth a shot to have something better to do than mope around the house.

It turns out that he was surprisingly good at it. His moderate height and added abilities made him a star athlete. At first he felt a little guilty using his advantages over the other players but after a while, he didn’t really care. They were winning. And that kind of adoration really gave Peter an ego boost.

That is until somewhere before the semi-finals, when Chris came to one of the games with his moronic friends. These guys were real assholes that didn’t have much going for them but their moderate looks and average intelligence. Chris could do better than that. He had to have been functioning under his level of competence because Peter heard them several times during the game make stupid comments on the opposing teams cheerleaders. Their presence was enough to make Peter miss a few shots, which really bothered him.

After the game when Peter was getting his bag together he thought Chris was walking down to talk to him. It made his chest tighten. Sure Peter was pretending not to care in hopes of eventually getting over it but he was still hopeful despite his better judgment.

He really should have listened to that inner voice. Chris breezed by him like he wasn’t even there and plated a kiss on the girl standing behind him. It was some girl he’d seen Chris with before, a cheerleader named Cindy or Stacy or something generic that gave her that girly cuteness that most boys desired. It was a real blow to Peter psyche.

It wasn’t like he was looking for things to be resolved overnight or anything but he was at least expecting an effort. Peter thought Chris was there with his stupid friends to watch him play. That he’d heard about him being the new star player and came to support him, even if he’d never admit it. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Chris was there to watch his new girlfriend jump around in a short skirt.

That was too much to deal with. Peter needed to get out. To get out of this gym, to get out of this school, to get out of this situation that he’d found himself in. He ran out into the parking lot and slammed his hands on his jeep. Peter tossed the bag into the back and just let everything go. The contents of his stomach spilled onto the asphalt collecting in a puddle in the darkness.

It wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. Usually under stress like this he would shift, it was hard for him to focus on control when he mind was all across the board. But this was new, it was human in origin.

Peter could hear the footsteps of someone approaching. It had to have been someone from the team judging by how heavy and spaced out the steps were. He didn’t see his face but he could tell from his voice that it was the assistant coach. He stumbled through the motions of asking if Peter was okay and Peter gave him a garbled response, waving him away.

He really just wanted to be alone. Peter slid down against side of his truck, the shock of what just happened finally hitting him. Chris was with someone else. Not just someone else, a cheerleader. He couldn’t help but take it personally. The thought of it was making him was making him heave.

Peter struggled to find in keys in his pocket. He had to get to get out of the lot before Chris made his way there. He was just turning out onto the street when he saw them. They were making out on the trunk of her car. The rearview mirror put them in perfect focus.

There was a sudden sinking feeling in his chest and his vision blurred. The next thing he knew it morning. The sun beamed through the leaves of the tree overhead into his eyes. Peter lifted his head slowly and saw the blood on his hands.

_What did I do last night?_

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to end in an unknown space. I was feeling like that fact that Peter is a werewolf was taking a backseat, which I intended to do in the first place, but I did want to work it in a little more. The ending isn't where I originally planned to stop this chapter, but I think it works better this way.


End file.
